The head (Amir) and three senior teachers of Madressah Darul Uloom Jamia Islamia, Anwar Habib, Dalowal (Chak 248 RB), have subsequently been remanded in judicial custody.

Specializing in Hifz-i-Quran, the school attracts students (between four and 12) belonging to poor families from far flung areas of the Punjab.

What was happening inside the walls surfaced when Shaukat Ali, a local mechanic whose two sons Qaisar and Faisal studied there, visited the school to see the boys. For two days he was not allowed to meet Qaisar and Faisal.

On the third day Sahukat found another concerned father, Muhammad Iqbal, present outside the seminary to see his son Afzal Ali. After joint efforts they learnt that the boys were among half a dozen students tortured badly for not learning their lessons.

Shaukat with the help of people from a neighbouring locality managed to recover the boys whose bodies bore wounds and burns from clubs and hot iron rods.

“My sons and other boys said that they had been severely beaten by Syed Ameerul Hassan, Hafiz Kashif, Bader Munir and Muhammad Javed, who also blasted their bodies with burning rods and coal pieces.”

On his complaint, the area police raided the seminary and freed confined children who were taken to the Dijkot rural health centre for medical examination.

The medical officer confirmed that children had been beaten, tortured and their bodies bore burn marks. On the basis of his report a case under section 342, 337L/2, 337/34 of PPC was registered by the Dijkot Police which arrested Syed Amirul Hassan (the Amir), Hafiz Kashif Imran, Bader Munir and Muhammad Fareed.

Some of the terrified students this correspondent talked to alleged that their tutors would burn their private parts with tanoor rods, chain them at night, make them sleep on the cemented floor during the winter, subject them to repeated sexual assaults.